They approved spending more than $330,000 on a new pumper truck, police cruiser and patrol motorcycle, supported a bold affordable housing initiative and signed off on an increased $16.6 million budget — all with little or no hesitation.
But when it came to buying a car for town officials to use on the mainland, Tisbury voters got all revved up and rallied for an environmentally friendly hybrid model.
Breezing through 27 articles in just three hours, town voters said yes to every spending request — including a $16.6 million operating budget for the next fiscal year — at the annual town meeting on Tuesday evening.
Moderator Deborah Medders opened the meeting at 7:43 p.m. with 166 voters in attendance, just six per cent of the total 2,674 voters registered in Vineyard Haven.
Voters tackled every spending measure from duct work along town streets to new acoustics at the senior center to a new printer for the assessor’s office.
A nonbinding resolution on the creation of a Martha’s Vineyard Housing Bank passed unanimously with no debate on the issue. While embracing housing efforts, voters also threw their undivided support behind an Island-wide transportation service for senior citizens.
Only two issues sparked any debate. Finance committee members challenged the school budget request, and a resident questioned the planning board efforts to move forward on a connector road between Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road and the commercial corridor on State Road.
Comments heated up on the educational spending topic when finance committee members came charging out at the school committee’s use of revenue from school choice reimbursements — in other words, the money paid to the Tisbury School from districts and towns sending students to the Vineyard Haven grade school.
Finance committee members wanted to trim back the school budget by $172,861. George Balco, a finance committee member, called that amount of money a slush fund for the school.
School committee chairman Barbara Fortes urged voters to approve the total $4.1 million requested by schools.
“It just seems the town wants control over those funds, and that is unfortunate,” she said.
Ms. Medders had to tell several members of each committee, who were lined up at the microphone waiting for a chance to speak, to be seated.
Donald H. Amaral, the lone dissenting voice on the finance committee, and selectmen Tristan Israel and Raymond LaPorte supported the school committee, ultimately convincing Tisbury voters to back the full school budget.
Of the capital expenditures, a $35,000 request for a survey to study the possibility of a connector road drew criticism from Marie Laursen, who was surprised by plans to link Tisbury's two busiest roads.
"I thought a connector road meant one road, not a new neighborhood," she said. "It's a road system, and I am worried about that. We need to look before we leap."
But planning board chairman L. Anthony Peak reminded voters that the money being appropriated was not for construction costs.
"This is strictly to fund a survey to determine the practicality of the roadways, and what the costs are," he said.
Voters approved the request with a majority chorus of ayes.
A proposal to purchase a $25,000 car for town business on the mainland enlivened voters, quickly blossoming into one of the longest discussions of the evening, with several amendments offered to the original proposal.
Muriel Mill started things off, rising up from her seat to ask that the town consider leasing the car instead of buying it outright, but her amendment failed.
Ralph Friedman then jumped into the car-buying scheme and proposed an amendment that would guarantee a choice parking space for the vehicle — right in the front lot at the Woods Hole Steamship Authority terminal.
But when Mr. Israel assured voters that the SSA had already provided a spot, the Friedman amendment failed as well.
Marnie Lipke finally struck the right chord with fellow townspeople, encouraging voters to spend their tax dollars on a hybrid vehicle. That suggestion set off a longer debate about practicality. But in the end, voters reached consensus and even named their brand — preferably a 2005 Toyota Prius, they said.
Voters approved a vast majority of the articles unanimously, and sailed through most of the 18 capital appropriations without comment. Of the 27 articles, 23 passed with a unanimous decision.
Tisbury residents who turned out for the meeting Tuesday were also in an altruistic mood. They quickly approved spending $90,000 for their town's share of a regional transportation initiative for senior citizens, a two-year pilot program which will managed by the Vineyard Transit Authority.
Unanimously and with resounding applause, they passed a resolution to create an Islandwide housing bank, which would fund affordable housing projects. Robert Wheeler, a Vineyard banker and affordable housing advocate, spoke of the urgent need for more homes that buyers can afford.
"At work, I confront the ugly side of the rising cost of housing daily," Mr. Wheeler said. "I see these not as taxes but as investments, and without funding these initiatives, we'll lose the very infrastructure of this community."
Among the larger spending items, voters agreed to spend $153,000 on trash disposal operations, $75,000 for duct work along Union, Church and William streets, $70,000 to retroactively fund contractual wage increases for union employees and $27,000 for a new off-Island ambulance service.
Voters also approved the appropriation of $10,000 to buy a portion of Tashmoo Beach currently owned by Dukes County, and backed a professional enhancement fund that would reimburse public school teachers for sabbaticals and tuition for further education.
And despite the controversy surrounding the use of revenue from the 50-cent ferry embarkation fee, Tisbury voters unanimously approved using the fund to pay most of the $300,000 cost for a new pumper truck for the fire department. They did so without a word.
This article appears in April 8, 2005.